RAPID CITY, S.D. – Fresh off a trip to Alaska, South Dakota Mines opens RMAC play on Tuesday night against hated rival Black Hills State.
 
Coming into the game, the Hardrockers are looking to pick up their first victory, while Black Hills State is 4-4.
 
Typically, you can throw out the records in this rivalry, and that will likely be the case again on Tuesday.
 
In addition, the Hardrockers will head to their other regional rival for a road game at Chadron State on Thursday.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Black Hills State
Date/Time: Dec. 3 / 5:30 p.m.
Site: Rapid City, S.D.
Arena: King Center
Series Overall: Black Hills State leads 56-55.
Streak: Black Hills State Won 4
Series at South Dakota Mines (Since 2000-01): Black Hills State leads 15-10.
Streak at South Dakota Mines (Since 2000-01): Black Hills State Won 2.
Tickets: Ticket Central
Watch Live: RMAC Network
 
Chadron State
Date/Time: Dec. 5 / 5:00 p.m.
Site: Chadron, Neb.
Arena: Chicoine Center
Series Overall: Chadron State leads 37-36.
Streak: South Dakota Mines Won 1
Series at Chadron State (Since 2000-01): South Dakota Mines leads 7-3.
Streak at Chadron State (Since 2000-01): Chadron State Won 1
Watch Live: RMAC Network

SAVEA STEPS UP
Savea Mansfield continues to be a reliable scorer for the Hardrockers. She is the team's leading scorer, averaging 12 points per game. In addition, Savea is the second-leading rebounder, averaging 4.7 per game.
 
MORNING GRACE IS MULTI-FACETED
Morning Grace Spotted Bear can do a lot of things on the court. She is a threat on the offensive and defensive ends as well as on the glass.
 
Spotted Bear is averaging just short of double digits with 9.6 points per game, leading the team and near the top of the RMAC with 7.4 rebounds. Spotted Bear also averages 1.1 blocks per game and 1.6 steals per game.
 
SHOOTING UP THE LEADERBOARD
Piper Bauer continues to push towards the school record in made three-pointers. She is 19 three-pointers away from tying the record of 276 set by Ryan Weiss.
In addition, she is moving up the points leaderboard. This past weekend, she moved into the top 20 on the South Dakota Mines leaderboard and now has 1,162 career points.
 
PROTECTING THE RIM
South Dakota Mines does a good job protecting the rim. They are fifth in the RMAC with 3.4 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE
Black Hills State enters Rapid City with a winning record of 4-3 under first-year head coach Rachel Erickson.
 
The Yellow Jackets have been a strong rebounding team. They are second in the RMAC in defensive rebounds per game and fourth in overall rebounds per game.
Offensively, they take care of the ball, averaging just 13.3 turnovers per game, second in the RMAC and 22nd in NCAA Division II.
 
Kalla Bertram, Haylee Weathersby, and Morgan Hammerbeck are the top scorers, with averages of 14, 13.4, and 9.
 
Bertram also grabs 7.9 rebounds per game, while Weathersby grabs 5.4.
Bradie Schlabs averages 5.6 rebounds per game and 4.4 assists per game.
 
SCOUTING CHADRON STATE
Chadron State, like the Hardrockers, has not gotten off to a great start. They are 1-5, with their lone victory coming against York University.
 
Despite their struggles, they have a trio of substantial scoring threats in Ashayla Powers (15.7 points per game), Allison Richards (12.8 points per game), and Camren Morris (10.7 points per game).
 
Powers also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.2 per game.
 
Overall, the Eagles are strong on the offensive side, hitting 41.9 percent of their shots from the field and averaging 67 points per game. Both marks are in the top three in the league.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following the split week for the Hardrockers, they are on the road for a trio of games before the holiday break. They take on CCU and CSU Pueblo next weekend, before an exhibition game against the University of South Dakota on Dec. 20.
 
You can find the latest on South Dakota Mines women's basketball all year long on X and Instagram (@hardrockerwbb), while also following on Facebook at Hardrocker Women's Basketball. The latest on South Dakota Mines athletics can be found by following us on X at @GoHardrockers, hardrockerathletics on Instagram and Hardrocker Athletics on Facebook.
 
About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 13 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.